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School Culture Rewired: How to Define, Assess, and Transform It
Your school is a lot more than a center of student learning—it also represents a self-contained culture, with traditions and expectations that reflect its unique mission and demographics. In this groundbreaking book, education experts Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker offer tools, strategies, and advice for defining, assessing, and ultimately transforming your school's culture into one that is positive, forward-looking, and actively working to enrich students’ lives. Drawing from decades of research on organizational cultures and school leadership, the authors provide everything you need to optimize both the culture and climate of your school, including
130 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
68 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 18, 2016
This was not an engaging book. The idea behind the book was worthwhile, but the delivery was mostly common sense. The best parts of the book were the rubrics and surveys, which are meant to be used for gauging cultural aspects within a school. The other messages were concepts any school leader or veteran teacher should know.
February 3, 2025
This is a GREAT book for administrators who want to implement a healthy school culture in their buildings!
July 18, 2021
Helpful in distinguishing a school's culture from its climate, and practical suggestions for helping your educational community reform its culture.
March 27, 2016
"School Culture Rewired" assists the reader in defining and assessing the culture of his/her school, and how to transform it to a theoretical nirvana design of "Collaborative school culture" where all learners are embraced. The implementation has to be school-wide, obviously. However, some ideas on what a few can do to possibly make positive changes are included, as well.
October 31, 2015
Some interesting thoughts on how to help school culture evolve. Probably a more fitting read for admin. I liked the idea of looking at climate vs culture and discussing are we doing what we've always done just because it's what we've always done. Can we find a positive shift? It's a quick read that could foster campus discussion.
April 7, 2015
Some valid points and good insights, but overall, a terribly pedantic look at school culture, containing many long-winded analogies and weak humour.
January 25, 2016
As the title indicates, the purpose of Steve Gruenert & Todd Whitaker’s School Culture Rewired is to assist school leaders in understanding the concept of school culture and learn strategies for influencing it in positive ways.
The authors provide a number of definitions for culture, with two of the better ones being:
• Deeply embedded beliefs and assumptions
• “The way we do things around here.” - Deal & Kennedy (6)
In Chapter 2, important distinctions are made between culture and climate: “If culture is a school’s personality, climate is its attitude.” (11) Climate refers to what you do in a school as opposed to culture, which describes why you do it. (16) School climate is “how most of us feel most of the time.” (18) While the climate of a school may change quickly, changing a culture is a slower and more difficult process. That said, dealing with “behavioural or attitudinal issues … addressing the climate” of a school is an effective way of initiating cultural change. (28-29)
In Chapter 3, the building blocks of school culture are listed. They include:
• Mission and vision - Culture is the unwritten mission statement;
• Language – Jargon and popular phrases reflect the culture;
• Routines, Rituals, & Ceremonies;
• Norms – The unwritten rules that govern behavior
• Roles – ie. the staff comedian or critic;
• Symbols;
• Stories;
• Heroes; and,
• Values & Beliefs.
Leaders can have a significant impact on culture depending upon how they address these building blocks. For instance, they reinforce those norms and values and beliefs that they model, tolerate, and/or reward.
Subcultures may exist in a school based on factors such as teacher age, grade level taught, and department. The leader’s task is to “identify the subculture that seems to wield the most power.” (45) If the principal is mindful of this subculture and gets its members on board, then positive change may occur; however, if this group is ignored or threatened, it can “go rogue” and undermine the change process.
Six types of school culture are described in Chapter 4:
• Collaborative – the “theoretical nirvana” (50) of culture, whereby teachers share the values of
excellence, commitment, and collaboration;
• Comfortable-Collaborative – In this culture, it’s more important for teachers to get along than
to be effective; thus, authentic inquiry about improving teacher instruction and student
achievement is avoided;
• Contrived-Collegial – The principal controls the school improvement process, and teacher
autonomy is diminished;
• Balkanized – Subcultures predominate and collaboration only takes place in cliques;
• Fragmented – Every teacher has his/her own adventure; and,
• Toxic – The focus is on the negative; change is resisted as teachers “prioritize survival over
improvement”. (61)
Chapter 5 introduces the Cultural Typology Activity – a rubric which allows principals to determine their school’s current cultural type. The rubric measures the degree to which each of the following 12 aspects of school culture exists:
• Focus on student achievement
• Collegial awareness of effectiveness
• Shared values
• Teacher participation in decision making
• Risk taking
• Trust
• Openness
• Strong parent relations
• Strong leadership
• Effective communication
• Socialization (Mentoring & Coaching of new teachers)
• Organization history of school improvement
In an effective school culture, “teachers feel free to critique one another” and “confident that they can share their professional struggles”. (72)
The School Culture Survey discussed in Chapter 6 can be used by teachers to determine how collaborative the school culture is. It measures 6 indicators:
• Collaborative leadership
• Teacher collaboration
• Professional development
• Unity of purpose
• Collegial support
• Learning partnership (among all stakeholders – teachers, parents, students)
More surveys of staff are outlined in Chapter 7. One is the Who Owns What? survey. It assesses the degree to which teachers believe they and other stakeholders are responsible for certain behaviours in the school, such as student learning, student absenteeism and tardiness, student misbehavior, and teacher morale. The authors emphasize that “The most useful aspect of [a survey] is the discussion after it’s been completed.” (103) They also caution that “Exposing the beliefs of an organization’s members can be a sensitive proposition.” (105)
Chapter 8 offers strategies for “jump-starting” the cultural rewiring process:
• Stop making excuses for dysfunction; instead, learn from those in the school who have
overcome the obstacles;
• Stop generalizing ie. all students or parents are resistant; and,
• Let the effective teachers in on the changes you are catalyzing.
Some key “leveraging points” for cultural change are discussed in Chapter 11. The strongest point is the start of the school year, when the possibilities seem endless: “At the beginning of the year, the culture of each classroom is like a ball of clay waiting to be formed.” (135) Natural shifts in the school year and holidays are other key times. Moments of celebration (ie. staff wedding, awards) and mourning (funerals) are also leverage points. Outside directives and standardize test scores can be spurs to intentionally change culture. For example, low reading scores can be presented by the principal as both a challenge to current practices and an opportunity for new initiatives. Lastly, first-time or one-time events, such as a crisis, can trigger change.
Chapter 12 provides advice on how the school-year cycle can support cultural change. Physical changes, to spruce up the school and better facilitate collaboration, can be completed over the summer. During the first week of the year, the principal should open up preliminary dialogues about school culture with teachers perceived to be open to change. Towards the end of the first month, the principal should have all teachers complete the School Culture Survey. The School Culture Typology Activity can then be completed sometime during the first half of the year.
Suggestions on creating a school culture rewiring team is the topic of Chapter 13. The process should begin with a rating of each teacher in terms of both effectiveness and ability to influence other teachers. Once the teachers who have the broadest impact on other teachers are identified, the next step is for the principal to share with these teachers, through stories, the vision of a renewed school culture. Then the principal should send them out to tell these stories to other teachers. “Don’t think of the school improvement team as a group of people who meet once a month to look at data; rather, think of them as people who interact with all teachers every day.” (160)
Along with the great advice on how school leaders can rewire culture comes an important caution from the authors: “Rewiring a culture is like turning around an ocean liner – it takes a long time.” (141)
The authors provide a number of definitions for culture, with two of the better ones being:
• Deeply embedded beliefs and assumptions
• “The way we do things around here.” - Deal & Kennedy (6)
In Chapter 2, important distinctions are made between culture and climate: “If culture is a school’s personality, climate is its attitude.” (11) Climate refers to what you do in a school as opposed to culture, which describes why you do it. (16) School climate is “how most of us feel most of the time.” (18) While the climate of a school may change quickly, changing a culture is a slower and more difficult process. That said, dealing with “behavioural or attitudinal issues … addressing the climate” of a school is an effective way of initiating cultural change. (28-29)
In Chapter 3, the building blocks of school culture are listed. They include:
• Mission and vision - Culture is the unwritten mission statement;
• Language – Jargon and popular phrases reflect the culture;
• Routines, Rituals, & Ceremonies;
• Norms – The unwritten rules that govern behavior
• Roles – ie. the staff comedian or critic;
• Symbols;
• Stories;
• Heroes; and,
• Values & Beliefs.
Leaders can have a significant impact on culture depending upon how they address these building blocks. For instance, they reinforce those norms and values and beliefs that they model, tolerate, and/or reward.
Subcultures may exist in a school based on factors such as teacher age, grade level taught, and department. The leader’s task is to “identify the subculture that seems to wield the most power.” (45) If the principal is mindful of this subculture and gets its members on board, then positive change may occur; however, if this group is ignored or threatened, it can “go rogue” and undermine the change process.
Six types of school culture are described in Chapter 4:
• Collaborative – the “theoretical nirvana” (50) of culture, whereby teachers share the values of
excellence, commitment, and collaboration;
• Comfortable-Collaborative – In this culture, it’s more important for teachers to get along than
to be effective; thus, authentic inquiry about improving teacher instruction and student
achievement is avoided;
• Contrived-Collegial – The principal controls the school improvement process, and teacher
autonomy is diminished;
• Balkanized – Subcultures predominate and collaboration only takes place in cliques;
• Fragmented – Every teacher has his/her own adventure; and,
• Toxic – The focus is on the negative; change is resisted as teachers “prioritize survival over
improvement”. (61)
Chapter 5 introduces the Cultural Typology Activity – a rubric which allows principals to determine their school’s current cultural type. The rubric measures the degree to which each of the following 12 aspects of school culture exists:
• Focus on student achievement
• Collegial awareness of effectiveness
• Shared values
• Teacher participation in decision making
• Risk taking
• Trust
• Openness
• Strong parent relations
• Strong leadership
• Effective communication
• Socialization (Mentoring & Coaching of new teachers)
• Organization history of school improvement
In an effective school culture, “teachers feel free to critique one another” and “confident that they can share their professional struggles”. (72)
The School Culture Survey discussed in Chapter 6 can be used by teachers to determine how collaborative the school culture is. It measures 6 indicators:
• Collaborative leadership
• Teacher collaboration
• Professional development
• Unity of purpose
• Collegial support
• Learning partnership (among all stakeholders – teachers, parents, students)
More surveys of staff are outlined in Chapter 7. One is the Who Owns What? survey. It assesses the degree to which teachers believe they and other stakeholders are responsible for certain behaviours in the school, such as student learning, student absenteeism and tardiness, student misbehavior, and teacher morale. The authors emphasize that “The most useful aspect of [a survey] is the discussion after it’s been completed.” (103) They also caution that “Exposing the beliefs of an organization’s members can be a sensitive proposition.” (105)
Chapter 8 offers strategies for “jump-starting” the cultural rewiring process:
• Stop making excuses for dysfunction; instead, learn from those in the school who have
overcome the obstacles;
• Stop generalizing ie. all students or parents are resistant; and,
• Let the effective teachers in on the changes you are catalyzing.
Some key “leveraging points” for cultural change are discussed in Chapter 11. The strongest point is the start of the school year, when the possibilities seem endless: “At the beginning of the year, the culture of each classroom is like a ball of clay waiting to be formed.” (135) Natural shifts in the school year and holidays are other key times. Moments of celebration (ie. staff wedding, awards) and mourning (funerals) are also leverage points. Outside directives and standardize test scores can be spurs to intentionally change culture. For example, low reading scores can be presented by the principal as both a challenge to current practices and an opportunity for new initiatives. Lastly, first-time or one-time events, such as a crisis, can trigger change.
Chapter 12 provides advice on how the school-year cycle can support cultural change. Physical changes, to spruce up the school and better facilitate collaboration, can be completed over the summer. During the first week of the year, the principal should open up preliminary dialogues about school culture with teachers perceived to be open to change. Towards the end of the first month, the principal should have all teachers complete the School Culture Survey. The School Culture Typology Activity can then be completed sometime during the first half of the year.
Suggestions on creating a school culture rewiring team is the topic of Chapter 13. The process should begin with a rating of each teacher in terms of both effectiveness and ability to influence other teachers. Once the teachers who have the broadest impact on other teachers are identified, the next step is for the principal to share with these teachers, through stories, the vision of a renewed school culture. Then the principal should send them out to tell these stories to other teachers. “Don’t think of the school improvement team as a group of people who meet once a month to look at data; rather, think of them as people who interact with all teachers every day.” (160)
Along with the great advice on how school leaders can rewire culture comes an important caution from the authors: “Rewiring a culture is like turning around an ocean liner – it takes a long time.” (141)
June 11, 2022
Readable and practical information. The surveys and rationale for using them were the most intriguing tools in this book. I’m eager to share them. Recommended for new admin teams and educational leaders.
April 29, 2018
Interesting and possibly useful survey tools included. But the rest of the book was mostly common sense, and a little repetitive at times.
May 10, 2018
Great resources for working with schools.
July 8, 2018
Pretty interesting book. I gained some great insight on the difference between culture and climate. Some great tools provided in this book.
July 2, 2019
Great thought-starters and team tools - a little basic, but inspiring nonetheless!
July 29, 2019
Perfect book for me to read right now as both my district and school are in the midst of leadership changes. Quick, common sense read with great suggestions and thinking points.
May 9, 2020
This book did a great job of defining culture and climate in schools. It really made me appreciate the culture I have at my school.
September 18, 2020
Required reading for school.
January 12, 2021
Good introductory book into organizational culture, specifically for schools. I found that the literature review was lacking but the resources for school surveys were very helpful!
October 4, 2021
Another great book for my masters class!!
July 6, 2022
There are some valuable school culture assessments but overall relied too much on self-help style quips. Helpful as a companion piece to more in-depth looks at school culture and leadership.
October 16, 2023
Insightful.
March 31, 2024
Great read on changing school culture. It is a quick read, but has so many great points. Great advice!
June 13, 2024
Inspiring text that gives tangible tools to assess the climate and culture of a school. Culture is very intangible but this books makes it less daunting and more real.
June 5, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Culture is at the basis of all successful organizations. When there is a culture problem, the organization can suffer in more ways then one. This book offers solid ways to not only find what culture is present, but also how to fix them. It further talks on setting up structures to prevent culture issues. I found myself relating my own experiences to this book quite often. Which made the book relevant and exciting. I would encourage not only educators to read this book, but leaders interested in finding out what culture exist in their workplace.
July 29, 2016
This is an excellent discussion of the forces driving school culture. It includes specific guidance on how to facilitate the change of a school's culture to one that is more collaborative and student-centered. There are several surveys included that the change leader might use to get faculty thinking about the culture in their school and the roles they play in either perpetuating a toxic culture or helping the school move toward a more positive culture. Advice about how to use the surveys is provided.
April 12, 2016
This is a profound read. I recommend this book for administrators who are entering a new building or those who are looking to "rewire" their culture. Every building has a system of traditions and a strong belief in "the way we do things here." Steve Gruenert gives readers advice on how to assess a culture, define the cultural expectations of a school, and create a plan to drive a school culture toward a positive institution for student-centered success.
May 16, 2015
A must read for school leaders! This book is filled with surveys in the beginning to help identify your school culture and then provides you with strategies to help improve the culture of your building. Then when you finish reading, as the authors state, "why don't you rewire your culture instead of talking about it to death?"
July 5, 2017
Such a good book...I read it in one day! It made me reflect on my school's current state and gave many suggestions on how to help make positive changes in the culture of the school. It energized me for the upcoming school year! I recommend this book to all school administrators and leadership teams as a way to refine their own school culture!
August 28, 2018
Gruenert's book discusses the differences between a school's climate (what you do) and culture (why you do it), and how a school's culture develops as well as how it can be changed for the better. It's a decent read for building leaders, and I could see myself using some of the assessments in the book once I'm a principal.
January 29, 2015
It's almost unfair for me to rate this as a teacher because it's clearly written for admin, but it was a very interesting look into culture vs. climate, influence etc. I definitely could see how I'm a cog in the wheel of culture(!) and how my classroom cultures function.
December 26, 2015
While this sounds like a promising book, it's not. It has some useful surveys and a little bit of thought-provoking info in it, enough to warrant 3 stars. However mostly this book offers little to a reader who already has explored this topic through other sources. A disappointment.
January 25, 2015
Down and dirty. Quick read, useful surveys, good tips.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews